A Food Critic Experience

Everyone is a critic. Or so they think. I get the same line no matter where I go: "Food critic? I always wanted to do that." More typical is the caustic: "Food critic? Right. But what's your real job?"

People in general think that because they eat to live, they can become food critics. Not so. I love my job but like any other, it does require commitment, sacrifice and an investment of effort and time. I consider myself fortunate to do what I do, but a food critic is not the fantasy job that many assume it to be.

I collect a paycheck to eat and then write about the experience. A dream? On paper perhaps, but in the real world there's a dark side. For every four-star review I give, there is a host of dismal and second-rate establishments that fall short on food and service.

As a passionate epicure, disappointment is a vast understatement to describe how I feel when my restaurant experience is negative. I want every chef and entrepreneur to succeed when they unveil a new restaurant to the public. A bad review is much more difficult to pen than a positive one and the experience alone can cause a serious dent in my career morale.

You may scoff at that notion but try to remember your last brush with inferior food or service. How did it affect your mood, your company, your date, or the rest of your night? I would presume not well. Now capture that emotion and replicate it week in and week out. Given a string of bad luck on the job, that can approximate my life.

A diamond in the rough is rare. A cubic zirconia is not. But then again, some would say that I set an impossible standard when I review a new restaurant. My retort is thus: "Should the chef and owner expect less?"

a high standard

Should I apologize if I expect the décor, service and food to be professional, first-class and memorable? I want the entire experience to make an impact from the moment I walk in the door, to the moment I decide to pay the bill. Some tend to disagree with that demand and I contend that many of them own a restaurant, or work in one. How sad. For the diner prepared to shell out for a complete experience, what could be worse?